Changes to restrictions in England imminent

[Attila]

Usually, first day of classes/first week, campus is rammed -- place was like a ghost town today. My classes had a fairly decent attendence, but numbers seemed way down from what it's usually like. I've had loads of emails from students who aren't on campus yet due to positive covid tests, cancelled flights (international students), and students who just don't want to be on campus -- one of my really good students says that one of his housemates has tested positive for covid for something like the second or third time since September.

[olliebean]

The absolute fuck is this cuntery?

https://inews.co.uk/news/covid-rules-school-face-masks-children-classrooms-nadhim-zahawi-1415329

Nadhim Zahawi hit back at news that some classrooms have defied orders to scrap facemasks, saying yesterday that "all schools" should ban them so that children can "enjoy a normal experience" in the classroom.

Should ban them. Should fucking ban them. Saying schoolchildren don't have to wear masks is one thing, but saying they should actually be banned from wearing them is a whole new level of psychopathy. How the fuck did we get to a place where the Education Secretary is saying children should be banned from taking basic precautions to protect their and their family's health?

Fuck's sake. Fuming about this.

[SpiderChrist]

The absolute fuck is this cuntery?

https://inews.co.uk/news/covid-rules-school-face-masks-children-classrooms-nadhim-zahawi-1415329

Should ban them. Should fucking ban them. Saying schoolchildren don't have to wear masks is one thing, but saying they should actually be banned from wearing them is a whole new level of psychopathy. How the fuck did we get to a place where the Education Secretary is saying children should be banned from taking basic precautions to protect their and their family's health?

Fuck's sake. Fuming about this.

My boss' missus has gone down with Covid so he's keeping his kids off school, just in case. So there are some sensible people out there, just none in government.

This is psychopathic behaviour. Fuck these cunts into a burning skip full of shit.

[olliebean]

Absolute proof, I guess, that the policy is now not just to allow the virus to spread, but to actively encourage it.

[Fambo Number Mive]

415,000 pupils and 47,000 teachers and school leaders* were not in school last Thursday for covid-related reasons.

And they want to ban masks in schools.


*is that like a headteacher?

[Fambo Number Mive]

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: "It's reassuring to see Covid-19 infections beginning to slow across the country, as we move back to Plan A.

"Rates are still high, so as we learn to live with the virus it is vital we continue to be vigilant - wash your hands, let in fresh air, get tested and, if you haven't already, get boosted."

So he advises washing hands but doesn't advise wearing a mask unless exempt. I think the second would be more useful to stop it spreading to others.

[Fambo Number Mive]

A good article by Anne Wafula Strike on what the lifting of restirctions means for many disabled people:

...In early 2021, the charity Mencap warned that some disabled people were receiving letters saying they would not be resuscitated if they became ill with Covid-19, after "do not resuscitate" orders were illegally placed on some disabled patients during the first wave. This horrified me. In this and so many other ways, the Covid-19 pandemic has widened and deepened the exclusion of people with disabilities, and given the world a taste of how quickly a marginalised group can fall off a country's agenda and become almost invisible.

I have felt the same pain this week, as preparations were made to end all plan B measures on Wednesday – including wearing masks on public transport and guidance to work from home. I watched the prime minister announce this last week as he tried to save his own career after apparently flouting the lockdown restrictions he put in place to keep the most vulnerable safe. His announcement was met with cheers in the House of Commons; on my television at home, it was met with horror. My first thought was of my clinically vulnerable friends, many of whom have barely left their homes in two years. Catching Covid could still be very dangerous even after being vaccinated, and those who are immunocompromised may not respond to vaccines at all. Yet again, they have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

On the day the prime minister made his announcement, there were more than 100,000 confirmed Covid cases in England and nearly 19,000 people in hospital with Covid. This is an illness that has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of disabled people like me; six out of 10 Covid deaths in England have been those of us with disabilities. Promised antiviral drugs that could help vulnerable people fight the virus have been slow to appear.

Yet despite the enormous risk, we have now been told that we should return to work in person. Our children must now go to school, and may well be expected to do so without masks, knowing that alongside their homework, they could bring back a virus that could devastate our health. If we want to use public transport or go to the shops, we cannot now expect others to wear masks to help protect us. I went into a supermarket before restrictions lifted and was appalled that there were so many people not wearing their mask. It makes me very sad to see just how quickly we have forgotten what we've been through.

My friend and fellow disability campaigner, the GP Dr Hannah Barham-Brown, spoke to me after the announcement, rightly describing this government as one that has prioritised "vino over vulnerability". This latest escapade "laughs in the faces of the disabled community, and the health and social care staff who care for them"...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/26/disabled-people-plan-b-restrictions

[Attila]

We have a covid doomwatch counter on the front page of our uni intranet. Daily noted cases have gone from 30-40 or so (after staff returned to campus two weeks ago) to well over 100, only 3 days in to the new semester with the students back.

We're told that we don't need masks or distancing, and not to tell students to wear masks. We shouldn't, either, as it can affect 'some students' learning experience.

Campus itself is very quiet compared to the usual first week of semester, though, and I've had a number of emails of students who have come down with covid or are isolating because a family member/housemate has tested positive. We are not allowed to do hybrid teaching.

All meetings that can be held live are to be held live -- the university is trying to move us away from Teams as much as possible. A lot of people are defying that last one, though.

[scarecrow]

Only 350 dead today, lads.

The media likes to suggest that these were all antivaxxers, but I'm sure for the most part it's vulnerable people who've been hung out to dry.

[SpiderChrist]

Lifting England Covid rules while 3bn people unvaccinated reckless – experts



"By ignoring the demands of low- and middle-income countries and stifling global vaccine production with arbitrary intellectual property rules, the government risks prolonging the pandemic and endangering countless lives. We need a complete step-change if we are to bring this pandemic to an end for everyone."